The Bell of the Ball

Kelly L. Green is editor of the Canadian Book Review Annual’s
Children’s Literature edition.

Bonnie is a bell. Not a belle. A bell. In a tower. In Bellington town
hall. When the town has a ball, Bonnie can’t go. She doesn’t have a
date. She is so sad on the night of the ball that she starts to cry.
Only other bells can hear her tears fall (bong, bong, bong). Shy
schoolhouse bell Billy tinkles in response, and gradually Bonnie hears
his happy sound and stops crying. She becomes the bell of the ball.

Author Katie MacDougall, a junior-high student from Whycocomagh, Nova
Scotia, won a Children’s Book Award from the Chiboo Junior Authors’
Club for her story—the first to be published by the Club. Her use of
language is inventive and inviting, and very young children will find
the story hilarious. The publishing data do not make it clear whether
MacDougall also did the illustrations, but if she did, she is indeed a
gifted young woman.

This winning little book, and the clever idea behind it, will be an
inspiration to young writers across Canada. Recommended.